Commissioner Of Internal Revenue Vs. Ateneo De Manila University

COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE vs. THE COURT OF APPEALS, THE COURT OF TAX APPEALS and ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY FACTS: Private respondent is a non-stock, non-profit educational institution with auxiliary units and branches all over the Philippines. One such auxiliary unit is the Institute of Philippine Culture (IPC), which has no legal personality separate and distinct from that of private respondent. The IPC is a Philippine unit engaged in social science studies of Philippine society and culture. Occasionally, it accepts sponsorships for its research activities from international organizations, private foundations and government agencies. Petitioner assessed private respondent for alleged deficiency contractor’s tax, to which the latter did not agree with. Hence, this petition. Petitioner contends that that private respondent is an "independent contractor" within the purview of Section 205 of the Tax Code. To petitioner, the term "independent contractor", as defined by the Code, encompasses all kinds of services rendered for a fee and that the only exceptions are those expressly enumerated under the said provision, and private respondent is not one of those entities enumerated. Specifically, petitioner contends that the tax is due on private respondent’s activity of conducting researches for a fee. Simply put, that Ateneo's IPC contracted to sell its research services for a fee. On the other hand, private respondent contends that it is not an independent contractor selling its services for a fee but an academic institution conducting these researches pursuant to its commitments to education and, ultimately, to public service. That the funds it received are not given in the concept of a fee or price in exchange for the performance of a service or delivery of an object. Rather, the amounts are in the nature of an endowment or donation given by IPC's benefactors solely for the purpose of sponsoring or funding the research with no strings attached. ISSUE: Whether or not the act of IPC of receiving money from its benefactors is in the nature of a contract of sale or a donation. RULING: The questioned transactions of IPC cannot be deemed either as a contract of sale or a contract of a piece of work. "By the contract of sale, one of the contracting parties obligates himself to transfer the ownership of and to deliver a determinate thing, and the other to pay therefor a price certain in money or its equivalent." By its very nature, a contract of sale requires a transfer of ownership. Thus, Article 1458 of the Civil Code "expressly makes the obligation to transfer ownership as an essential element of the contract of sale.

In the case at bench, it is clear from the evidence on record that there was no sale either of objects or services because there was no transfer of ownership over the research data obtained or the results of research projects undertaken by the Institute of Philippine Culture. The established facts show that IPC, as a unit of the private respondent, is not engaged in business. Undisputedly, private respondent is mandated by law to undertake research activities to maintain its university status. In fact, the research activities being carried out by the IPC is focused not on business or profit but on social sciences studies of Philippine society and culture. Since it can only finance a limited number of IPC's research projects, private respondent occasionally accepts sponsorship for unfunded IPC research projects from international organizations, private foundations and governmental agencies. However, such sponsorships are subject to private respondent's terms and conditions, among which are, that the research is confined to topics consistent with the private respondent's academic agenda; that no proprietary or commercial purpose research is done; and that private respondent retains not only the absolute right to publish but also the ownership of the results of the research conducted by the IPC.